Owl tell you this...Art Inspiration Challenge Card

You may have noticed that I am having a little obsession with critter couture...   This card is my entry for the Cricut Circle NSD Crop Art Inspiration Challenge!

Inside:  Your gift was a hoot!  Thank you so much!

 For this challenge, we were given a print from which to take inspiration to make any kind of project as long as we used a minimum of three Cricut cuts.  

I used the rose image, the three blue butterflies, the blue background, and the color palette for my card.  

For the crafty details:

• I started with the owl from Noah's ABC Animals, cutting at 3.2" on the Imagine.  I put the top layer and face layer through the Cuttlebug for a little texture (using Swiss Dots and Chevron).   I cut an extra layer for his suit and shirt "fabrics." I put the blue cuts through the Cuttlebug to give it some stripes.  The paper for the suit is a pattern from Hey Diddle Diddle; the shirt is a solid from that cart as well.  I inked him in black and added details with a Micron pen and white gel ink pen. I hand-cut the bow tie, lapels, and little pants.  Brads made the shirt buttons and belt buckle.  The owl is popped up 1/4".

• I cut the garden arch and fence from Spring Cottage on the Expression at 8-3/4".  I manually cut off the inside gate pieces.  I inked this in black and popped it up 1/16".  

• I used the Martha Stewart branch punch for the greenery in three different papers.
• I created the micro roses using a fantastic tutorial on Scrapalette's blog!  Click here to see her tutorial!  (You can also find this link on my sidebar under "Inspirations".)  Per her instructions, I cut the scalloped rings from Elegant Edges (page 23) at 1.3" on my Imagine.  I flood-filled them with the peach from Hey Diddle Diddle that I used on the owl's shirt and hand-colored the back of them with a pink Sharpie marker.  I liked way the ink bled through, creating a muddled surface!  Some of the blooms have been touched with a stamp pad for extra color.  I glued them on so that some would be facing straight up and others would be on their sides.  I added one for a boutonniere.

• The background is a 6-1/2" rounded square (built-in on the Imagine) and flood-filled with a print from Floral Emporium.
• The ribbon banner was cut from Enjoy the Seasons at 5.2".  I added text from my computer (Americana BT at 16 point).  The banner is popped up 1/4".

• The butterflies were cut using a Martha Stewart punch and detailed with a Micron pen.
• I cut a smaller card and attached it to the back of the owl scene.  The inside of the card has more text with the same font at 26 point:  Your gift was a hoot.  Thank you so much!

Thank you for checking my blog today.  I think I have finally finished all of the Circle Blog NSD challenges that I can do.  They have been so much fun!    As always, you can see most of my previous projects by going to My Project Gallery.



Edited May 11, 2012 to add:  This project was featured on the Cricut Circle Blog Project of the Day!